Fusion Teams, Explained: Benefits, Roles & Examples

Does the definition of a fusion team sound familiar? If you’ve heard of the Agile methodology, you’ll notice some similarities with fusion teams. In fact, fusion teams often start off as Scrum teams. Both Agile and fusion teams follow a Lean methodology. The #1 focus is to create and deliver fast, value-driven apps without time-sucking administrative barriers. But unlike other cross-functional teams, fusion team members have the expertise and ability to deploy solutions directly to end users.

So what does a fusion team look like in practice? It depends on the task at hand. Fusion teams are driven by a specific business outcome, which will differ for every enterprise.

Here’s what Gartner provides as examples of fusion teams:

• Digital product teams focus on innovating the product portfolio through fast and agile digital product development.
• Digital channel teams use precision marketing and customized experiences to reach new customers.
• Digital operations teams redesign supply chains with automation to cut operational waste and increase process visibility.
• Data and analytics teams share information across the enterprise to implement AI-driven decision making.

Every enterprise’s fusion team will look different, but the most important thing is that it includes people with varied expertise in the focus areas that your business goals require. For example, a fusion team working on automating a supply chain might include an operations specialist, vendors, and internal and external end users. Fusion teams often include a mix of the following specialties:

• Business
• Marketing
• Sales
• IT
• R&D
• Development
• Subject matter experts (SMEs)
• End users

The members of a fusion team are autonomous, but they all share responsibility for the fruits of their labor. Every fusion team also needs a leader. A fusion team leader is similar to an Agile product owner, and they are responsible for:

• Resourcing
• Planning and roadmapping
• Leading strategies

Enterprises don’t have time to waste when it comes to delivering in-demand apps. What some organizations forget is that development is just one of many steps to deliver a product that meets stakeholders’ expectations. Planning, continuous collaboration, testing, and other phases of the development lifecycle are just as important and require significant time investments. Fusion teams fast-track each step of the development lifecycle by breaking down silos and making it easier to share knowledge and feedback. This eliminates bottlenecks, streamlines the development process, and enables teams to swiftly progress through digital transformation.

Gartner notes that fusion teams can progress app development 2.5x faster than centralized efforts. From ideation to delivery, collaboration happens early and often, so teams can deliver on stakeholder expectations the first time.

Fusion teams offer the best of both worlds in terms of individual autonomy and teamwork. Individually, team members are representatives of their domain, and their subject matter expertise is heard and represented during the planning and progression of application development. For example, a salesperson may be a team’s authority on the sales cycle and customer perspectives. Ultimately, individuals have full autonomy when it comes to innovation and decision making related to their specialty.

As for the entire team, everyone is committed to the successful delivery of a product, rather than their individual business function. The team also shares full responsibility for the outcome—whether good or bad.

One of the greatest benefits of a fusion team is the ability to gain perspectives from different departments across the enterprise. Teams then use that expertise to drive all planning and execution throughout the entire app-building process. Sales reps see things differently than marketing folks, business reps have specific requirements to follow, and developers are the authorities on the extent of an app’s capabilities. SMEs outside of IT are able to influence and direct app development so that stakeholders get exactly what they need, with minimal rework.

The only way to achieve results that satisfy all stakeholders is to combine these different perspectives and expectations. When these experts come together, fusion teams gain a more holistic understanding of business and user needs. And without traditional departmental silos, information is readily available, communication flows more freely, and teams produce a more valuable product.

The members of a fusion team are autonomous, but they all share responsibility for the fruits of their labor. Every fusion team also needs a leader. A fusion team leader is similar to an Agile product owner, and they are responsible for:

• Resourcing
• Planning and roadmapping
• Leading strategies

When assembling a fusion team, don’t forget to:

• Keep the team small — less than 9 people
• Recruit people with expertise relevant to the goal
• Appoint a team leader with sound digital judgment
• Involve fusion team leaders to help create governance and compliance practices
• Share insights and lessons learned across the organization

A fusion team also needs the right technology to build and deploy app solutions. Low-code development platforms can be used by any fusion team, regardless of members’ technical prowess. For more on low-code and fusion teams, read How Fusion Teams and Low-Code Can Accelerate Your Digital Transformation.